Point-of-Care Rapid RNA test for HIV CrossLife Technologies Inc. Project Summary/Abstract Current antibody point-of-care tests cannot distinguish between a mother's and baby's antibodies to detect if an infant has become infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). According to a recent joint WHO/UNAIDS/UNICEF report only an estimated 28 percent of babies born to HIV-positive mothers obtained an HIV test within the first two months [1]. Therefore, there are unmet needs for new and improved diagnostics that can be applied at the point-of-care to detect HIV infections. A highly sensitive, simple paper strip molecular test that detects HIV at the point-of-care will be developed. The target sequences are amplified using the TARA (Template-Assisted Rapid Assay) technology which is composed of a template-dependent chemical transfer reaction with high turnover, gold nanoparticle-HRP and lateral flow readout. The test should be rapid (<30 minutes), and results in the appearance of colored bands that are detectable by eye or are captured using a smartphone scanner.